Tag Archive | thoughts

Sun & Moon Watching On Your Phone

Sun, Planet & Moon Phase Apps

After posting my full moon picture yesterday I received a question about using apps for Sun and Moon watching on your smart phone. I recently upgraded my phone to a smart phone and had an opportunity to do some research on this subject.

Now I might be an IT Geek but I am by no means a professional cell phone / app tech or reporter. So take this for what it’s worth, it’s simply a consumer’s review and it certainly doesn’t cover all astronomical apps available on the market.

Additionally, my phone is an Android so I have no experience with iPhone apps. But I’m sure there are equivalent options available in iPhone and IPads.

I strongly suggest looking at the ratings provided to the app by other uses before you purchase an app. Read the reviews and see what others say about it. One thing I learned to look at are the number of users who rated the app. If an app has 5 gold stars and only 3 people have used it then you may not be getting what you’ve bargained for. However if the app has a 4 star rating and 600,000 users, I’d say that’s a pretty good app.

With all that said, here are a few Sun and Moon apps you might like to look into on GooglePlay. Prices listed are as of the date of this posting. Continue reading →

The Last 2012 Full Moon

Dec27

December 28, 2012 at 5:28am

Technically the last full moon of the year occurs early Friday morning here on the east coast of the U.S. But it sure looks good coming up over the lake in our backyard.

2013 Moon and Astronomical Event Calendar

Dec27

The Moon, Sun and Magik

Every practitioner of magik should know which days to work and which to take off. Which moon phases are best for what kind of casting and which are for rest.

Whither you call yourself a witch, mage, shaman or ceremonial magician, the moon is an integral part of magikal practices. Know what is happening in the skies around you and how those events are impacting the energy not only on Earth but upon the living things on the planet.

Understanding the astronomical events such as moon phase, lunar or solar eclipse, solstice and equinox dates and times will give a magikal practitioner more insight and understanding for their workings. It will also help when aligning your energies to those cosmic forces through your physical tools and your spiritual being.

Of course the guidelines to working with the Universal bodies are not cast in stone. And like most things in the pagan community where you are in the world, what culture you’re familiar with or drawn too will impact the correspondences between objects and energy. You may want to read about The Correspondence Of This And That for more information.

In magik, timing can be crucial to the success of a magikal practice. But even then, emergencies happen. Certainly if you have a friend in dire need of healing, you don’t need to wait until the next Waxing Moon to cast a healing spell or ritual. But when possible and for the best results here’s the Moon Phase Calendar for this year to help you plan your work.

Today we’re rolled out The Pagan’s Path ~ 2013 Moon Phase & Astronomical Calendar to assist in your planning for events during the coming year.

Merry Christmas To One & All!

Dec25

Merry Christmas
From everyone at Springwolf Reflections & Spring’s Haven!
May you be surrounded by all the things that bring Christmas cheer today.

May the GreatSpirits shine brightly upon your path bringing happiness & joy during this holiday season!

We received a couple of “we’re annoyed” notes about our Christmas post. Asking why a pagan center is posting Merry Christmas. To those we’d answer…

Just because we’re pagan doesn’t mean we can’t respect one of the most important days observed by another religion. We’re not in competition with others. It’s not “us” against “them”. Through appreciating each other, we learn tolerance and bring about peace between all like-minded people. So honor those around you and respect their practices, you may find that they return the same act of kindness to you.

The History of Yule

Dec22

The Winter Solstice
By SpringWolf, D.D., Ph.D.

The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year and the beginning of Winter. In simple terms it is one of two points on the ecliptic at which the sun is overhead at the tropic of Capricorn, when the Sun is at its southern most point for those in the Northern Hemisphere.

“The earliest people on Earth knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. They built monuments such as Stonehenge in England and Machu Picchu in Peru to follow the sun’s yearly progress.”
Deborah Byrd

The Winter Solstice has marked the beginning of winter and provided a point in time where homes and communities needed to be prepared and ready for the barren cold months. For some it designated the official end of the harvest season. For others it marks a time of spiritual celebration. And for others it’s nothing more than an astronomical occurrence and scientific event. But to Pagans, it marks the beginning of the 12 Days of Yule and time to honor the Triple Goddess and rebirth of the God. Continue reading →

Help Victims Of Newtown, Connecticut

Dec16

Visit CNN’s Tribute To Victims

Funeral Protests Planned By Hate Group

I learned this evening that the hate group “Westboro Baptist Church” (not that I think you can call these people a church) has released information that they are planning to picket the funerals of the victims of Friday’s tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Everyone here at Spring’s Haven denounces these hateful insensitive actions and we ask for compassion as this community grieves.

Even members of Anonymous have begun an Operation against the Church to discourage them from protesting at the school and compounding the misery already experienced by Newtown residents.

There are several things you can do to help stop this devastating action to inflict more pain on these parents, families and friends of these precious victims.

If you live near Newtown, Connecticut organize a “Human Wall” to peacefully block this hate group from getting anywhere near these funerals. Efforts like this have been successful in the past (Huffington Post) and have overshadowed the hate from this group.
Sign a petition on Whitehouse.gov to Legally recognize Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group.
Visit CNN to find out how you can provide help for the community of Newtown. They have a great list of organizations who are sharing a wide range of support to families and the community in general.
Share these efforts with others and spread the news!

This hate group must not be allowed to inflict their ignorant bigotry and hate on this community. They have already suffered so much and no one should remain silent and allow this to happen. Please help provide your peaceful support to these efforts.

Help Us Help Others – Update

Dec16

Help Us Grow Our Services
To Help Those In Need

Spring’s Haven Summer Campaign

Over the summer we held a fund raising campaign to Help Us Help Others in need. We began our campaign on August 3rd and it ran through to Samhain on October 31st. We focused on requests we received from people who are shut-in at home due to illness or tragedy, as well as, military personnel who are looking for someone to talk to and who holds the same spiritual beliefs.

We shared A Story of Hope and A Smile Can Help Someone Survive to share how our efforts will help those we have heard from.

Our campaign was a success and we couldn’t say Thank you enough to our sponsors for their generosity!. We raised enough to purchase 1 ipad and expand our services for digital face to face consultations and counseling. We couldn’t have done it without our wonderful friends who supported our effort! Continue reading →

Prayers & Sympathies To Newtown, Connecticut

Dec14

Our Deepest Sympathies To The Community Of Newtown, Connecticut

Our hearts and prayers go out to the families, friends and the community of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Words seem inadequate to express the sadness we feel over the tragic loss of so many young innocent lives. Our sympathies, love and support we send out to all families and friends of those have been taken from this world too soon. We pray that the GreatSpirits welcome them with love and compassion. And that each and everyone touched by this devastating tragedy is illuminated and comforted in Divine Light. May you find the strength to endure and live on to hold their memories in your hearts.

I hope the following articles help those looking for ways to cope:
1. When Tragedy Strikes: When Bad Things Happen To Good People
2. Dealing With Trials and Grief

Springwolf holds a Doctorate in Divinity and a Doctorate in Philosophy in Spiritual Counseling. She counsels families and women of abuse.

2012 Tarot Meditation Drawings

Dec13

Our last drawing for 2012 will be Friday, December 21.

We wish everyone a wonderful, happy and joyful Holiday Season!

Merry Yule To One And All!

I began the daily drawing insights here on Springwolf Reflections on February 1, 2012. You can see all the insights for the 2012 Tarot Meditation.

Or you can view all the drawings for 2012, as well as past years on Spring’s Haven Tarot Meditation Archive.

Today is December 12, 2012 – Does It Mean Anything?

Dec12

Today Is 12/12/12

Today even Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson got into the excitement on Twitter. At 12:12 he sent a tweet:
@neiltyson If you happen to enjoy the uniqueness of 12h 12m 12s 12/12/12, then don’t forget 12h 12m 13s 12/12/12. It’s just as rare.
He timed his tweet pretty well too. It was sent at 12h:12m:13s on 12/12/12. Truth be told, I started writing this post at 12:12, and thus the publish date/time looks pretty good too. 😉

And he wasn’t the only one marking the occasion. Our local NBC News station here in Richmond rang in the moment with party horns and cheers. For them it was 12:12:12: on the 12/12/12 on NBC12. You can’t make this stuff up people.
@AndrewFreiden Wish you were here!!! pic.twitter.com/nyBOe62w.

For many this unique occurrence was simply a good time to break the work or school day up and have a little fun. The repeated pattern is cute, unique and it won’t happen again for 89 years. For others who believe in Numerology, it’s a time to mark the occasion with spiritual energy, cosmic interpretation or psychic prophecy. Continue reading →

"Believe In Yourself, Even When No One Else Does."
~ Harvey McKay ~
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“Take a chance on faith. Not religion, but faith.
Not hope, but faith.
I don’t believe in hope. Hope is a beggar.
Hope walks through the fire and Faith leaps over it.”
~ Jim Carrey ☆ 2014
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“I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less. And I am one of the seven billion human being. Basically we are the same… your emotion, my emotion, your mind, my mind.., same physical. So I always look [at it] that way. We are the same.”
~ Dalai Lama 2012 ~
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"Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
~ Bruce Lee 1971